An online game aimed at helping children see the importance of social distance during the coronavirus pandemic has accumulated around 10,000 games in its first two days.
Can You Save the World players? he must stay away from people in a busy street, collect masks and avoid sneezing.
The final score shows how many lives have been saved in this way.
Co-designer Prof Richard Wiseman said that "only a small amount of avoidance can save lives."
Psychologist Dr Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, said he went out for a walk during the blockade and thought that social distancing "seemed like a computer game" because "he had to avoid jogging, cyclists etc.".
Knowing that there was "evidence that pro-social video games can change people's behavior in the real world," he contacted French game designer Martin Jacob.
They created the game in two weeks, a process that would normally take months, with Mr. Jacob from a technical point of view and dr. Wiseman "who shape him psychologically".
"I think it's the first away social game and the first Covid game," said Dr. Wiseman.
"It encourages everyone to avoid others and secondly it emphasizes that it makes a difference."
Free game players must avoid other people and collect PPE and healthy food to earn more lives.
"The score rises rapidly, to show that by avoiding one person you are not infecting others and therefore you are not infecting others," he said.
Dr. Wiseman, who previously talked about how laughter can help people cope during the coronavirus pandemic, said that because the game addressed a serious topic, it had been "a challenge to create a fun environment" .
"But it occurs to me: spreading a serious message with a sense of lightness is fun but you are also learning something," he said.
"And you're learning through doing, which is far more memorable than another message of condemnation and sadness."
The game, which is currently only available on computer browsers, is aimed primarily at children, but adults also like it very much, he said.
Verity, 10, said that "it was really cool because it's fun and makes you think about how to behave when you go out" while an adult player told the BBC that "he thought it was realistic that you have to move for people, they won't take you away middle ".
